Everything a Mother Could Want for Her Son
by Rusty Fingers
Summary: Follows 'All's Fair When Love is War'. Grissom is serious about Horatio, serious enough to introduce him to his mother.


Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. Also, boys kiss in this story so if that bugs you, go read something else. Enjoy.

Horatio stood behind Grissom holding a bag of groceries, looking over his shoulder by sheer virtue of the fact that he was two inches taller than Grissom. Horatio was nervously excited as Grissom rung the doorbell before he took out this keys and unlocked the door they stood before. Frowning, Horatio followed Grissom into the front hall of his mother's house, wondering why Grissom had rung the bell if he had a key.

He didn't have a chance to puzzle this out as a woman in her mid seventies came from down the hall, face beaming, and put her hands on Grissom's cheeks. Susan Grissom was still beautiful, in the way that older women who are confident and comfortable with themselves manage to be. She was slim with close cropped grey hair and looking at the smile she had for her son, Horatio could see she still had her original teeth, white as snow. Her dress was anything but casual yet came just short of what some might call provocative for a woman her age.

Susan kissed her son on the cheek then rubbed at the lipstick she had left there, taking her time looking into her sons eyes. Grissom didn't move from this either. In their relationship, much of what passed between them happened just like this. He could see his mother was excited and she could see her son was happy. All in one look.

When her eyes finally drifted to the tall red head standing behind her son, Susan dropped her hands from Grissom's face and put one to her chest, as if fighting off a hot flash. Horatio looked on in wonder as Susan moved her hands in what he understood to be sign language, mouthing the words as she went, signing to Grissom. Her son cracked a smile after a moment of watching her and signed something quickly back.

He turned to Horatio. "She wasn't expecting you to be quite this good looking."

Knowing he was blushing, Horatio looked at the floor. "Uh..." Susan walked up to him and repeated the touches she had bestowed upon her son, taking his cheeks in her hands and kissing him there. Never being one to do well with prolonged eye contact, Horatio had to settle for swallowing hard as this woman looked right into the very heart of him.

"It's nice to meet you Misses Grissom, um." Horatio fumbled and looked quickly to Grissom. There had been no mention of his mother being, Horatio presumed, deaf and he realised too late that she might take offence at his trying to speak to her.

"It's nice to meet you too, Horatio," she said, drawing Horatio's eyes back to her. Her voice had the quality of someone who hadn't heard another person speak for some time. The words were understandable but the tone and pronunciation were off considerably.

"She can read lips, Horatio," Grissom said, smiling warmly at the sight of his lover being greeted by his mother. "Just look at her when you speak."

Susan turned and ushered them both into the living room, holding onto Horatio's bicep with one hand and the bottle of wine they had brought with the other. He looked down at her, standing around five-five and smiled. He loved bubbly little old ladies.

Dinner preparations were immediately taken up by Grissom and his mother. He clearly spent a lot of time here as he didn't hesitate when reaching for cupboards and drawers. Horatio observed Mother and son from the doorway, hanging back a little shyly but also wanting them to have the moment they clearly needed together. He wasn't sure if it was possible to ramble in sign but that's what it looked like they were doing. Grissom's hands moved like lightning as his mouth kept pace, just like his mother. It was akin to any other language you might speak, Horatio thought. You could go for months without speaking Spanish when someone says 'como estas?' and you spend the next 20 minutes having a conversation in it. His lovers face was so bright, animated, happy.

Susan saw Horatio in the doorway and looked at him with mock scorn as she waved him in. Her hands moved as she looked at Horatio who followed but didn't understand.

Grissom looked at his mother and sighed as he signed something short to her. She merely gave him a look and turned back to Horatio. "She wants to know how we met...again."

Horatio smiled as he took a seat on one of the wooden kitchen chairs and, making certain to keep his face focused on hers, told the story. His telling emphasized that nothing would have happened had it not been for her son taking a chance, being brave. Grissom had his back to them, preparing food, enjoying Horatio's version but a little embarrassed as well. He was grateful that Horatio left out the details of the case.

Susan beamed at him and Grissom, signing to her son. "She think it's terribly romantic. I've told her 20 times," Grissom smiled, shaking his head a bit.

"Your lucky to have each other," Horatio thought he replied casually. Both Grissom and his mother caught the flicker of sadness that crossed his face.

"Are your parents still with us?" Susan asked, her voice kindly.

Horatio swallowed and shook his head eventually. "They died when I was 16."

Susan came to stand in front of Horatio, her head a mere foot above his even as he sat, and lifted his chin so their eyes met. Horatio braced himself. It made sense that eye contact would be important to her. This, however, did not make it any more comfortable for him.

Susan felt his pulse jump minutely, nervous, his eyes flickering side to side as they met hers. Here was this boy her son was in love with, she knew, and she felt comforted when she saw that he was a good person. There wasn't a question in her mind that he had never raised his hand to a woman or child. But she knew, knew from experience, that so much of him was in hiding from the world, afraid of what it might try to do to him next. A mother knows these things.

She smiled into his blue eyes before singing to him. Grissom took a moment before he translated. "She says 'it's good then...that you've come home'."

Horatio's heart twisted at these words and, as Susan thought he might, he was not capable of responding. She patted him on the shoulder and turned, throwing up her hands in delight at the fact that the meal was already cooking. Grissom put his arm around her as he tended the chicken in the skillet.

Feeling too hot around the collar, Horatio resisted the urge to unbutton it and instead left the rising heat of the kitchen. He wandered around the house, seeing the art but not understanding half of it. There were shelves of books that acted as room dividers and more along the walls but no television in sight. Susan was a prolific reader, across all genres and periods, Horatio noted. A habit Grisom had clearly gotten from her. He eventually found what he was looking for when he peeked into a room next to the bathroom, seeing a heavy wooden desk laden with photos and various trinkets. There was a careworn child's baseball mitt stuffed into a an adult mitt in similar condition. Child's drawings on faded yellow paper, along with home-made cards for fathers day, mothers day, birthdays. Plastic science fair trophies proclaimed loudly that Grissom had been the bane of his classmates academic existence from elementary to high school.

It was the pictures that caught his eyes most of all. There was no mistaking a young Grissom standing next to his father, bright eyed and sticky smiles as he proudly held up some type of perch, eyes half closed in the sunshine. He was the spitting image of his father excepting the curly hair. Other photos showed him patiently collecting ants and placing them in a terrarium, maybe eight years old. A photo of a 20-something Grissom standing next to a pool in nothing but a Speedo and swim cap tugged at Horatio's groin muscle. Brown haired, lean and just a as serious then as he was now, Grissom had only gotten more handsome with time.

"Find something you like?"

Horatio smiled as he put the photo down and stepped to within an inch of Grissom's face. "As a matter of fact..." They shared a brief kiss. "Does she think I'm being rude?"

Grissom smiled at his lovers husky voice and ran a hand through his soft red locks. "She thinks you're fantastic. You ready for round two?"

Horatio smirked briefly, "bring it on."

All three sat in the living room and Horatio held up to the battery of questions about his life admirably. They talked briefly about his job, his co-workers and friends, Yelina, Ray Jr. and Kyle.

"She's remembering that I told her you have a son," Grissom translated. He kept pace fluidly and the conversation didn't ebb.

"Kyle, yes." Horatio said, a second nature smile stealing across his face.

"Have you been married then?" Susan asked this herself.

"Uh, yes," his smile faltered somewhat, "not...not to Kyle's mother...though."

"Hopefully she's still involved in Kyle's life?" Susan meant well with these questions, showing interest, concern.

Grissom saw the discomfort start to drip off his lover and quickly signed something to his mother.

"'She didn't mean to pry'," Grissom translated, fixing Horatio with a look of concern.

"It's..it's not a problem," He said reassuringly to Grissom, "it's just complicated.

Susan nodded, smiling warmly as she signed, "'Sometimes family is'."

"On that note," Grissom signed as he spoke, "I think dinner's ready."

Grissom steered the dinner conversation to somewhat more benign topics as they ate. Susan also didn't have the opportunity to pepper Horatio with questions with her mouth full and hands occupied. He kept up his own flow of questions about Susan and Grissom. She was head of a book club with a bunch of her friends that was mostly an excuse to get together and drink a little too much wine on Friday nights. Then there was the charity she brow beat her clients to donate to that got art supplies into schools where budgets were more concerned with textbooks. Her life was well rounded in a solitary way, much like her son's. They watched a baseball game together almost every Sunday during the season, Horatio learned.

Horatio pushed back his chair and placed his folded napkin onto the table before he began clearing the table. "My compliments to the chef," he whispered huskily in Grissom's ear as he bent down to take his plate. Susan watched her son's eyes follow his lover into the kitchen, the soft easy feeling of love in them. She leaned over and stroked his cheek with her thumb and they shared another moment of word and gesture-less communication.

He watched her get up, taking her wine glass, and go to a drawer in the little table that stood beside the couch. He groaned inwardly. In a few minutes a lifetime's worth of photo albums were on the coffee table and his mother was already flipping through them. Leaning over the back of the couch, his jaw held in his hand, Grissom looked at the photo's with mild interest.

In what seemed like no time at all, Horatio was striding from the immaculate looking kitchen, rolling his sleeves back down. "Pictures," He raised his eyebrows at Grissom who merely shook his head. Eagerly, Horatio sat down next to Susan and gave her an encouraging nod. Grissom eventually sat down beside him and offered some comments on the photos.

There were many of him as a boy and the young family. Noticing a distinct difference in the face of the young Grissom, Horatio pinpointed the time where his father had died. He didn't appear in any photos after that and the contrast in Grissom's demeanour from before and after was great. There were fewer photos with friends in them, more with Grissom being presented with an award for something or doing some activity by himself.

It was around when Horatio and Susan were having a good laugh at Grissom's high school graduation photos that he moved to the stereo, knowing a sure fire distraction.

Etta James' 'At Last' drifted through the house and raised the hairs on the back of Horatio's neck. Grissom pulled his mother to her feet and started to slow dance in the ample floor space of her living room. Horatio gathered that was exactly the purpose of that space as he watched them dance. Susan rested her head against her son's chest and Horatio was reminded that loving and normal families did exist.

Grissom broke into a grin as Horatio came and took Susan's hand, stealing her from him. He bowed out gracefully and went back to sip his own wine on the couch and watch. Watch as Horatio, holding his mother firmly, led her about to the faster 'Pushover'. He dipped and twirled her and it wasn't long before laughter was coming out of her in peels. Horatio's hearty laugh was something Grissom didn't get to hear often and he savoured it, storing every detail of this memory somewhere deep and untouchable. They dissolved into a chuckling heap, Susan clinging to Horatio as the song ended, tears in her eyes. She mouthed 'thank you' to him, touching his cheek.

"Any time," he said quietly.

As Susan went to flop on the couch, Horatio motioned Grissom over with a nod of his head. Their hands slid over one another's body in search of their proper places. Grissom's came to rest on the small of Horatio's back while the other lifted Horatio's hand, leading them to 'I'd Rather Go Blind'. Horatio caressed Grissom's shoulder as he felt himself getting lost in the grey of his eyes again. It seemed to happen every time they danced like this, close and loving. This was, unbeknownst to each other, the most peace either man found in their daily lives. Nothing could touch them there.

Susan nearly teared up when they kissed. They looked so perfect together, it made her heart ache. She had begun to wonder in the last few years if her son would ever fall in love and, finally, bring someone home to meet her. The worry that ran through her mind was that she had mothered him too much or perhaps, not enough. But Gil had always been a child and then a man who did things on his own terms in his own time. He'd waited just long enough to make her worry before falling head over heels for the dashing lieutenant.

Having a thought, she left the boys wrapped up in each other and grabbed her camera from her office. They didn't notice her until she had a good stock of new photos and was brightly smiling.

Susan looked at both men fondly as they slipped on their jackets and shoes. She hugged them both individually, holding on for a few minutes. Both held her delicately but firmly, Horatio feeling every bit her son, Grissom thanking her in his mind for being the strong woman who had given him life.

She looked at them both seriously and signed. "'You have to come back. Soon.'" Grissom translated.

"I will," he promised as his hand slid into Grissom's.

Stroking her cheek, Grissom gave her one last long look before they left, closing the door behind them. He waited on the doorstep for the sound of the deadbolt locking before they moved towards the car.

They said nothing as they sat for a moment in the car, staring at the lights of the strip in the distance.

"It was your father." Horatio said in his rough tone after a moment.

"Excuse me?"

"The first person to ever break your heart. You loved him...and he broke your heart."

Grissom looked out the glass into the dark street before them. Absent-mindedly, he brought a finger to his lips. "That desk in there is his, you know. She moved it after she sold the house and moved out here, couldn't see the point in having all that extra space...but she kept the desk. When she met him she felt he was the only person who had ever truly seen her for herself. They married when they were 19 after seeing each other for six months." Grissom looked at the steering wheel. "At first I thought she didn't want to start seeing anyone...after...because she was so busy with me when I was a teenager...she didn't have any time. But, later, I realised she couldn't replace him. He was the only person she'll ever love."

Horatio grasped his lovers hand and brought their mouths together in a searching, deep kiss. After a second, their lips parted and they leaned against one another's forehead. "I know how she feels," Horatio whispered huskily, taking in the tears brimming in his lovers eyes before he pulled him into a hug.


End file.
